Gluten Free Overnight Almond Pancakes

It would appear that gluten intolerance is the new black…and our family is no exception. My daughter has some weird reactions to eating gluten, so although not crazily seeking every gluten free option available, I am finding that breakfast is the meal with the most challenges for her…so just like our Instant Chia Hot Cereal Mix, this is pretty quick, we can all eat it without feeling deprived (really!!!) and we don’t need to eat something different. (This mother does not do a different dish per family member in the same meal!)

Again, I am all about convenience, and this couldn’t be simpler…you just have to think about it as you head off to bed…well at least a minute or two before you head off to bed. The sitting overnight just softens up the almond meal and will help with the texture of the pancakes…Bon Appetit…

NEED:

150g almonds (blanched or not!)

130g yoghurt or kefir

2 eggs

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

2 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

2 tsp bicarb soda

Additional yoghurt and berries or fruit to serve

Butter for frying

DO:

Just before going to bed;

Place almonds into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add yoghurt, eggs, salt, vanilla and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and place in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, heat a fry pan on Induction 6 for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile remove Thermo bowl from fridge and add bicarb. Blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Melt a little butter in heated frypan. Pour a small amount of the batter into the centre of the fry pan and allow to cook until bubbles come through…this may take longer than traditional pancakes and if you have used unblanched almonds the pancakes will look a little darker than what you are used to. Carefully flip and cook on both sides. They are a little more delicate than normal pancakes as well, so be gentle.

Serve immediately with hot berry sauce, a little yoghurt or cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

This mixture could easily be doubled and in my house certainly will be next time around…we had these eaten in no time flat.

Pretty in Pink Cupcakes

Pretty in Pink….and white…I have an issue with cupcakes….well, not with eating them of course, but rather with taking pics of them. And so it was that I put a shout out on Facebook for suggestions…shooting suggestions if you will, on cupcakery!! What do you know?? There are experts out there, most of whom will give you their honest opinion for a cupcake….and one who came and actually took pics and gave me a very quick lesson on the finer points of my own camera, for the princely sum of two cupcakes! Fantastic….(thanks Mark) so now…who took which pic??? That is the question. I took pics as well, so if you can tell whose is whose, I will send you a cupcake. (Actually, I will not, but you can have this perfectly good cupcake recipe and make a whole dozen for yourself!)

Getting stuffed….with homemade raspberry jam…recipe coming

Cupcakery….

Cakes;

NEED:

100g butter

150g brown sugar

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

45g maple syrup

2 eggs

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

170g flour

1/2 tsp each baking powder and baking soda

DO:

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line 12 hole muffin tin with silicone cupcake liners.

Place butter into saucepan and cook until it becomes buerre noisette on Induction 10, stirring constantly. Pour into Thermo bowl and add sugar, vanilla and maple syrup. Blend 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down and allow to cool slightly.

Add eggs and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Add remaining ingredients and fold 12 sec/Interval. Scrape down sides of bowl to incorporate last little bits of flour. Divide equally in prepared tin. Bake 20-25 minutes or until springing back when touched with a finger. Cool completely.

Optionally, cut out the centre piece of each cake and fill with 1 tsp raspberry jam and place the piece of cake you removed back into place before continuing with frosting.

Raspberry Puree;

NEED:

150g raspberries

Juice 1 lime

DO:

Place berries and juice into Thermo bowl and cook 6 min/100ºC/speed 2. Strain through fine sieve and cool completely before using.

Frosting;

NEED:

400g fine icing sugar

50g butter

As much Raspberry Puree as needed to reach colour you are happy with!

DO:

Place sugar and butter into Thermo bowl and blend 6 sec/speed 6.

Whip 30 sec/speed 4/butterfly.

Remove butterfly and add raspberry puree a little at a time blending 3-4 sec/speed 6 between additions until you have the desired colour.

Remove frosting from bowl and place in fridge for an hour or so before piping onto cupcakes.

Happy Mothers (and might I add Grandmother’s) Day….to you all!

Pink Lime-Ade

Well I am to be a grandmother in just a few weeks…not surprisingly this is both amazing and wonderful! I have decided however to be called ‘Grandy’ not Nanna, not Nan, not Grandma, not Granny. I have been told that this is not up to me, but I figure, a slap or two and the kid will get it down no problems!

(Just in case you don’t know me by now, I jest!!)

For the baby shower (it is a little girl, yay, we are even-ing the score a little in the Holder family!!) I created a few little pink treats and this is one of them. Others may or may not follow depending on their success! But this was certainly on the ‘successful and shall be done again’ list! You need a couple of days up your sleeve for this one remember…to get the fizz happening…so if you are after something for Mother’s Day (or should that be called Grandmother’s Day??) then get squeezing!!

NEED:

300g sugar

40g raspberries

Zest 10 limes, finely grated

Water to 2L mark in Thermo bowl

Juice of 10 limes

2 tsp dried yeast

Sterilised glass bottles as required

DO:

Place sugar, zest and raspberries into Thermo bowl and cook 10 min/100ºC/speed 2. Cool.

Add juice and yeast and stir 5 sec/speed 8. Strain through fine sieve into sterilised bottles and leave out of the fridge for 2 days until bubbles start to accumulate. Refrigerate and serve with more raspberries and lime slices to taste. It can also be diluted with sparkling water if needed.

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

Dried Chia Seed Cereal

As previous posts have mentioned, I am all for convenience and as school starts again (can you believe we are Term 2 with winter looming already??) and as the mornings down under are getting cooler, and as my daughter has developed a gluten intolerance, this was a yummy solution that takes no time  on a busy morning. Filling, nutritious, gluten free, and you can add fresh fruit, berries, honey, dairy free milk, milk, cream, mascarpone to dress it up or down as much as you want. The flavours improve over a few days as the vanilla and cinnamon do their thing, so try and resist at least that long. The beauties of Chia seeds are well discussed here at our friends Honest to Goodness. And the best thing of all? So filling, there has been documented weight loss in this household…not mine of course, but amongst other family  members who care….I either need to eat it more frequently, or stop eating other stuff all together….hmmmn, what to do?

NEED:

70g rapadura or coconut sugar

1/2 stick cinnamon

1 roasted vanilla bean (see the best selling cookbook, For Foods Sake for all the benefits of this little trick!)

100g buckwheat

100g almonds

250g chia seed (any colour)

100g Inca berries (we have discussed these before!)

60g Crio Bru granules of choice

DO:

Place sugar, cinnamon stick and roasted vanilla bean into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Tip into jar you will use to store cereal mix.

Place buckwheat into Thermo bowl and mill 3 sec/speed 6. Add to jar.

Place almonds into Thermo bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add to jar.

Add chia seed, Inca berries and Crio Bru to jar and give it all a good stir.

To prepare mix 3 tbsp mixture with approx 1/4 or 65-70g boiling water, stir and let stand for a few minutes. Stir and add toppings and milk of choice!

YUM…

Lemon, Ricotta Filled Baked Pancakes

A quickie and a goodie…it started as a dessert idea, but turned into breakfast one morning at my house when my son who is ALWAYS hungry, complained about the lack of breakfast foods that jumped out of the cupboard and into his mouth.

So, to protect myself from further breakfast wrath, I did a quick pancake batter, looked at what was available in the fridge, and this beauty was the result…hope you will find these on your table soon…perhaps you can organise someone other than the mother in the house, to make them for Mothers Day? Easily prepared the night before, and then simply assembled in the morning…perfect way to avoid that burnt toast, cold Crio Bru morning that may be headed your way!!

NEED:

Pancake Batter;

300g buttermilk

150g plain flour

1 tbsp sugar

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

2 eggs

Filling;

300g ricotta cheese drained through a muslin cloth for a few hours (overnight)

Zest 1 lemon, finely grated plus some more

50g sugar

Juice 1 lemon, fresh

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

A little raw sugar as needed

DO:

To make pancake batter, place all ingredients into Thermo Bowl and blend 20 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and repeat. Allow to rest for 10 minutes if possible.

Heat large frying pan on Induction 8. Butter pan between each pancake. Cook them all before filling and baking.

Preheat oven to 160ºC and line a large baking tray with paper.

Meanwhile, to make filling place zest and sugar into Thermo Bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 10.

Add drained ricotta, juice and vanilla and blend further 4 sec/speed 6.

Place a small amount of the filling into the centre of each pancake. Fold in all four sides to form a package. Sprinkle each with a pinch of raw sugar. Place onto prepared tray and bake 10 minutes or until golden. They will have a little syrup coming out of them when they are hot.

Serve immediately with additional finely grated lemon zest to garnish.

Lime and Raspberry Flan

Seriously I cannot go past the combo of Lime and Raspberries. Be it a dessert or a drink, count me in. My darling sis has a gorgeous lime tree that is laden with fruit right now, so lucky me! I get the fruits of her hard labours….of course she gets a little in return, like a slice of this (just one!)…I believe in Fair Trade, and this is exactly how it works!

Should you be looking for more Limey, Raspberry, Citrussy recipes, you can’t go past some of the desserts in the most excellent For Food’s Sake, which I am hoping you all have a copy of…if not, WHY am I here??? (Just asking!)

NEED:

Shortcrust;
260g plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
130g cold butter cubed
1 egg yolk
60g sour cream
1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Filling; 
Zest and juice 3 limes
200g sugar
3 eggs
130g sour cream
20g cornflour
200g frozen or fresh raspberries

DO:

Pastry;

Place flour, sugar and butter into Thermo bowl and mix 5 sec/speed 5.

Add remaining ingredients and mix 10 sec/speed 5.

Tip out onto floured Silpat mat and press into a disc.

Roll out to fit a 18-20cm flan tin with removable base. Do not trim edges. Place in
freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180ºC and blind bake for 20 minutes. Remove baking beans. Trim edges neatly to
the rim of the flan tin. Reduce oven temperature to 160ºC.

Filling;

Place zest and sugar into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients except raspberries and mix 10 sec/speed 5.

Pour filling into pastry shell. Bake for 40 minutes or until custard is just wobbly in centre.

Garnish with raspberries and dust with icing sugar and cool completely before serving with ice cream or whipped
cream.

EVOO, Lime and Yoghurt Cake

My sister has blessed me with an enormous bag of limes…without a doubt my favourite citrus of all…and I have already done a Lime and Raspberry Tart with them today. It is Easter Sunday and we have a boating trip planned for tomorrow and boating with us has come to mean that I provide the feast. SO, tarts don’t travel well (just ask me) and so a cake was the best thing, a moist Lime Cake…and just like a pair of sensible shoes, not that attractive, but really do the job when required.

I have no butter, I made yoghurt on Friday, and so this was the natural progression. Hoping you love…hoping we love, as we skip across an azure sea tomorrow….

NEED:

240g sugar

zest 2 limes, finely grated

280g Greek yoghurt (home made if possible)

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

60g  Fini EVOO

35g fresh lime juice

2 eggs

200g flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

GARNISH:

40g icing sugar

Zest 1 lime, finely grated

DO:

Preheat oven to 180ºC and oil a loaf tin with EVOO. Set aside.

Place sugar and zest into Thermo bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add yoghurt, vanilla, EVOO, lime juice and eggs. Blend 10 sec/speed 6.

Add remaining ingredients except garnish and blend 12 sec/Interval.

Scrape into prepared tin and bake 40-45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

Leave in tin for boating travel, or turn out after 10 minutes before dusting with icing sugar and garnishing with lime zest.

Serve in big chunks appropriate for sensible appetites..nothing dainty here!

A bunch of Yoghurt cake recipes were the inspiration for this…and can be found here at Smitten Kitchen, or Chocolate and Zucchini, or our very own Aussie blogger, Souvlaki for the Soul.

Carob Plum Morsels

I was away earlier in the year as you might have read, and I got this fabulous email out of the blue, asking me if I would like some organic carob pods to play with….and of course, I said yes! It was Kristen Morrison from Naturally Better Foods who wanted to know! To cut to the Readers Digest version, I had a long chat with the very energetic and dynamic Kristen about her amazing business that operates out of Victoria, and if you are at all inclined to want the best sourced, least fiddled with ingredients for your family, then head on over to her site and join up! She also has a fantastic book about her own experience with her darling little boy which is absolutely fascinating reading and a must for any mum with a child with (or without for that matter) any sort of health difficulties….so what did I do with the carob??

(Just giving you the heads up…) There was a bit of process involved to get to the carob powder stage…not really that difficult, just a little time consuming. The fragrant results however were well worth it.

SO…to process the pods, you must boil them in plenty of water (out of Thermomix in other words), then remove the seeds. Roast the seeds for about 25 minutes in a hot oven at 180ºC and then allow them to cool before milling at least 3 times 1 min/speed 10, cooling well in between each milling. Sieve out any hard pieces and discard.

Roasted Carob powder with raw pods

Then you can make these delicious little treats; they are nut free, (unless using pistachios for coating) therefore perfect for school lunch boxes…or try chopping and adding them to Graneusli from For Foods Sake…quite a decadent, yet very healthy little mouthful!

The other great thing about Kristen and her site is that she is giving us the chance to give away a hamper to the value of $150 for you to spend in her online store…to be in the running, please head over to her Facebook page, ‘like’ the page and then put the comment “Tenina sent me” and Kristen will draw the lucky winner on Thursday 29th March…the same day as the Albany Cooking classes for those in the know!!

NEED:

100g seeds of choice (I used sunflower, pumpkin and linseed)

150g pitted prunes

50g carob powder

60g maple syrup

Pinch Murray River flake salt

Some chopped nuts, shredded coconut and more carob powder to roll them in

DO:

Place seeds into Thermomix bowl and mill 30 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients other than the rolling thingos of choice and blend 20 sec/speed 6.

Using wet hands, roll the mixture into balls and roll into either/all options to garnish.

Eat on a whim….but make sure everyone knows you made the carob powder…yourself…

Banana Tres Leches Cake

I am a sweet tooth…ask anyone. I would rather skip the entree and move straight to the dessert menu. I am always disappointed at a restaurant that only serves the standard ice cream in 3 flavors, a brownie fudge thing and possibly a lemon thing. Deeply disappointed. I often take inspiration from a fantastic dessert I eat when out…I loved going to recipe development meetings in Switzerland for many reasons, the least not being that one of the Vorwerk staff would take us out to eat and would always order every dessert on the menu and we would simply pass them around, tasting each one. Now that’s what I call living! It was the meeting of the palates…we were often short on language, but dessert crossed all borders!

This is Spanish inspired, a ‘three milk’ cake and is often made for special occasions, and after you consume it, you will realise why. Don’t be mean with the bananas, just keep them coming.  Think Swiss Restaurant Dessert Menu…go large!

NEED:

Cake;

180g sugar

110g butter

1 banana (120g)

300g flour

110g milk

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

1 tsp coconut extract

3 eggs

Tres Leches; (That would be ‘three milk’s kids!!)

150g each evaporated, condensed and coconut milks

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Caramel Bananas;

1/2 banana per serving

200g dark brown sugar

40g butter

Dash of rum or brandy

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Garnish; toasted shredded coconut (optional)

DO:

Prehat oven to 170ºC. Butter and flour a 16cm cake pan (with removable base if available.) Set aside.

To make cake batter, place sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10.

Add butter, and banana and blend 10 sec/speed 4.

Add remaining cake ingredients and blend 10 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and blend 5 sec/speed 6.

Spread batter into prepared cake tin and bake 40-45 minutes until inserted skewer comes out clean.

Pierce entire cake several times through to almost the base, stopping 1 cm from the bottom of the cake. The more holes you create, the better.

To make the Tres Leches Syrup place the milks and vanilla into a clean Thermomix bowl and cook 5 min/90ºC/speed 2. Pour this hot syrup over the pierced cake slowly so that the holes absorb the liquid. Make more holes if necessary. The moisture of the dessert depends on the cake soaking up this syrup. Cool completely. If you cannot add any more, reserve remaining syrup for service.

Remove cake from tin.

To make Caramel Bananas, peel bananas and slice.

Place remaining ingredients into a flat fry pan and cook on a medium heat (Induction 6) until bubbling and blended. Add sliced bananas and just heat through.

SERVE:

Slice the cake into wedges. Top with Caramel bananas, and toasted coconut if using. Serve with additional Tres Leches Syrup and whipped cream, to really tip you over the edge….a dessert not for the faint hearted!!

Beetroot Salad with Honeyed Walnuts

I have been wanting to make a Balsamic Reduction in thermomix since I first got mine over 4 years ago…but it took the wonderful Helene at SuperKitchenMachines to nudge me into action. I used raspberries as flavouring as this salad needed a little sourness. The honey was a natural choice to add and as you will read in Helene’s recipe, there are so many flavour options with a reduction that you will be spoilt for choice. Go ahead, choose whatever floats your flavor boat and reduce away. This version only makes enough for this one salad and may end up quite sticky. But personally…I am not afraid of sticky…just ask anyone!

NEED:

2-3 large whole beetroot

1L water for steaming

150g walnuts, shelled

2-3 tbsp honey

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

200g bocconcini, torn into halves

50g thinly sliced red onion

Handful mixed salad greens per serving

Raspberry Balsamic Reduction to taste (see below)

Fini EVOO to taste

DO:

Place whole beetroot into simmering basket and insert into Thermomix bowl. Add enough water to come half way up the sides of the simmering basket. Cook 35 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove basket and drain water. When beetroot are cool enough to handle, peel and slice thinly.

Meanwhile, place walnuts onto paper lined baking tray and drizzle with honey. Place into cold oven set to 200ºC and cook for 8 minutes or until nuts are toasted and honey has caramelised. Sprinkle with the salt whilst still hot. Set aside.

Arrange greens on serving platter, top with sliced beetroot, nuts, bocconcini and onion. Drizzle with Balsamic Reduction and EVOO to taste. Serve immediately.

Raspberry Balsamic Reduction

NEED:

160g great balsamic vinegar

20g honey

45g raspberries

Pinch Murray River pink salt flakes

DO:

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook 10 min/Varoma/speed 2 with MC off.

Pour through a sieve to remove raspberry seeds and use immediately.